Avian flu: 600,000 poultry slaughtered in one month in France

It is the other virus of the moment. At a time when the spotlight is on the new epidemic wave of Covid-19, avian flu is raging in French poultry farms. Since the first confirmed case of the virus at the end of November, “about 600,000 to 650,000” poultry were slaughtered, because they were infected or preventively, said the Ministry of Agriculture on Friday. In a report stopped on December 29, 26 outbreaks in farms, mainly in the South-West, were identified. 15 cases in wildlife and 3 cases in backyard were also detected.

After having raged in the north of the country, it is now in the southwest of France that the virus is most virulent. Since the first case recorded in a duck farm in Gers on December 16, “22 new outbreaks have been identified in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Gers and Landes”, detailed the government. “The affected farms were depopulated each time, then disinfected”, specified the ministry.

In an attempt to stop the spread of the virus, new restrictions on poultry transport will intervene to limit contagion “in a dense breeding area in the South-West” the scope of which must be specified by prefectural decrees. Within this perimeter, breeders will not be able to welcome new chicks or ducklings “until January 7”, in order to reduce the density of animals present simultaneously in these sectors. “These measures may be extended, in view of the evolution of the health situation”, warns the Ministry of Agriculture.

In parallel, a “economic support system will support the hatcheries” who lose outlets “and the breeders who will have to maintain a crawl space in their farms”. This measure reassured professionals in the sector. “The State says it will support the breeders who are penalized, it is already very comforting”, rejoices Marie-Pierre Pé, director of the Cifog foie gras interprofessional organization.

For the time being, like last year, the Landes department – where the most recent outbreaks have been detected – is concentrating the concerns. The virus “is present in the Landes but we are not in the same configuration as last year, with an explosion of cases “, reassures, however, the president of the Landes Chamber of Agriculture, Marie-Hélène Cazaubon. “Today there is vigilance and collective responsibility on the part of producers as well as a very rapid response from the veterinary services and the State”, she hammers.

For the fourth time since 2015, France – like many European countries – has not escaped this winter from highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as avian flu, carried by migrating birds. The health crises caused by this virus generate considerable costs for professionals and for the State (compensation for slaughtered animals and the resulting economic losses), as well as export losses. Last year, around 3.5 million poultry, mostly ducks, were slaughtered.